Immediately...Heaven Meets Earth

Mark 5:21-43

Miracles and Healing

²¹ When Jesus had crossed over again in the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around Him; and so He stayed by the seashore. ²² One of the synagogue officials named Jairus *came up, and on seeing Him, *fell at His feet ²³ and *implored Him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death; please come and lay Your hands on her, so that she will get well and live.” ²⁴ And He went off with him; and a large crowd was following Him and pressing in on Him.

²⁵ A woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, ²⁶ and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse— ²⁷ after hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak. ²⁸ For she thought, “If I just touch His garments, I will get well.” ²⁹ Immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. ³⁰ Immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself that the power proceeding from Him had gone forth, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My garments?” ³¹ And His disciples said to Him, “You see the crowd pressing in on You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’” ³² And He looked around to see the woman who had done this. ³³ But the woman fearing and trembling, aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. ³⁴ And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction.”

³⁵ While He was still speaking, they *came from the house of the synagogue official, saying, “Your daughter has died; why trouble the Teacher anymore?” ³⁶ But Jesus, overhearing what was being spoken, *said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid any longer, only believe.” ³⁷ And He allowed no one to accompany Him, except Peter and James and John the brother of James. ³⁸ They *came to the house of the synagogue official; and He *saw a commotion, and people loudly weeping and wailing. ³⁹ And entering in, He *said to them, “Why make a commotion and weep? The child has not died, but is asleep.” ⁴⁰ They began laughing at Him. But putting them all out, He *took along the child’s father and mother and His own companions, and *entered the room where the child was. ⁴¹ Taking the child by the hand, He *said to her, “Talitha kum!” (which translated means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). ⁴² Immediately the girl got up and began to walk, for she was twelve years old. And immediately they were completely astounded. ⁴³ And He gave them strict orders that no one should know about this, and He said that something should be given her to eat.

In today's text, from the daily reading in the One Year Bible, we read Mark's accounts of two healing miracles. These miracles are tied together because it is as Jesus is on His way to one that He encounters the other. Even without the aid of technology,  word about Jesus spread rapidly throughout the region. Every where Jesus went He was met by crowds of people. Some of these people were drawn by curiousity, having heard of the miracles that were happening. Others were drawn by the Holy Spirit, drawn to Jesus for their date with destiny, a personal encounter with I Am, the God who could meet their every need, who would be their Lord and Savior.

Jairus was one of these people. As a synagogue official, having Jesus in His home was not neccessarily going to put him in good standing with other religious leaders. Jairus though, has a deep personal need. His daughter was dying and he knew by a revelation of the spirit that he needed to put the politics of religion aside. Religion couldn't help them. Romans 8:3 says:  For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,    Jairus  and his daughter needed an encounter with the living God.  

Jesus says "Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.(John 5:19). The Father was doing something here. Jesus agrees to go with Jairus. As they are making their way crowds of people were pressing in to get close to Jesus, again many of them were drawn by curiousity or seeking some sort of self satisfaction. But there was one, a women who is not named in the account. It says of her: " A woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, ²⁶ and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse—"   We don't know a lot about this women, whether she lived righteously or in a life of sin. We know that she had persued healing at the hands of physicians. She had tried everything she could to be cured of her infirmity, all the wisdom of man had no answers for her. She only got worse. The text says " For she thought, “If I just touch His garments, I will get well". That was no human inspired thought. It made no practical sense. She was being drawn by the Father, through the Holy Spirit, to an encounter with Jesus, her healer, her Lord and Savior. After 12 years of trying every treatment and remedy the doctors could think of it says:  she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak... Immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of her affliction. Her healing was immediate. That's because everything we need is already accomplished in heaven. It was "finished" on the cross. A miracle is when this natural realm aligns with the realities of heaven. Here the alignment was immediate.  Jesus was aware of the power of heaven operating in and through Him. At her immediate healing Jesus also responded immediately.   Immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself that the power proceeding from Him had gone forth, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My garments?”     Look at the disciples response to Jesus question of who touched Him. And His disciples said to Him, “You see the crowd pressing in on You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’.    So obviously not everyone was touched with a supernatural surge of heavenly power. Do you think Jesus asked who it was because He himself didn't know? I think it was rather that Jesus wanted to assure this woman of the truth about her encounter. The woman tells Jesus the truth as she understands it, then Jesus tells her the truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction.”   Jesus calls her daughter, this woman who has been considered unclean and cast aside for 12 years is called a daughter by the living God. Jesus blesses her, affirms her faith and sends her forth in peace. She was, I'm sure never the same. She met not only her healer that day, but her Lord and Savior. She probably told everyone she knew about her encounter and her testimony still speaks to us today, "The things that are impossible with people are possible with God."

I'm sure that this was a great faith builder for Jairus. Then in the midst of this encounter, this account of heaven and earth coming together, there comes a word meant to bring discouragment. This word is not heaven inspired. It comes not from the Father but from the devil of whom Jesus says: the devil...  was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.   The devil will often speak or whisper lies to us to discourage us when we are on the verge of receiving something from God. Jairus is confronted with a real test of faith, does he believe this word that has come from his own household or does he continue to believe in what God has revealed to him?  Jesus, the Truth, assures Jairus saying  “Do not be afraid any longer, only believe.”      Jesus responds to this attack against faith by removing the mockers and doubters. First it says: He allowed no one to accompany Him, except Peter and James and John the brother of James. Then when they got to the house it says:  putting them all out, He *took along the child’s father and mother and His own companions, and *entered the room where the child was.

Faith is critical for the accomplishment of God's will. Jesus speaks often about what can be done with a small amout of faith. That means then that a small amount of doubt can also hinder the kingdom of heavens ability to manifest on earth. Taking the child by the hand, He *said to her, “Talitha kum!” (which translated means, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!”). 

Jesus says: “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies,(John 11:25) When the resurrection says get up people will get up! Once again it happens immediately.   Immediately the girl got up and began to walk, for she was twelve years old. And immediately they were completely astounded.

If we will turn not to religion and not to the wisdom of man for our answers, but rather drawn by the Father and the Holy Spirit if we will seek first the kingdom of God, we will see the immediate and astounding evidence of the kingdom of heaven on earth.

Grant it Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus and Holy Spirit. May it be according to Your word.  Amen